The golden age of book publishing, as former Book of the Month Club CEO and later Viking Press head Al Silverman informs us here with utter certainty, began in 1946 and lasted just into the 1980s. He backs up this sweeping conceit with the memories of some 120 notable heads of houses, editors, and publishers of this period, who shared untold stories about shepherding the most important books in postwar America. We learn, for instance, how Robert Gottlieb worked with Joseph Heller to make "Catch-18," as it was then called, into Catch-22; how Corlies "Cork" Smith took a risk on a shy young unknown named Thomas Pynchon; and how Leona Nevler edited under delicate working conditions with a most difficult author to make Peyton Place a novel for all generations.

"Of course, Al Silverman is both a 'bookman' par excellence and also the ultimate publishing insider, so it almost goes without saying that he is exactly the right person to write the story of book publishing since the Second World War, in the now bygone age of independent publishers and bigger-than-life editors. With world-class total recall, a clear eye, and a nice sense of humor, he brings back to life the publishers, the authors, the agents, and the editors who have filled his life, and whose personalities, often odd and marvelous, make his book a must for anyone who loves books and the world of book publishing."ŚMichael Korda